// Latest Posts

Happy Green Halloween

Autumn is perhaps the most glorious of seasons. The days are darkening but there is an explosion of colour all around. Add in Halloween and it becomes one of the most fun times of the year. We love Halloween. And the good news is we aren’t about to tell you how it needs to be …

A new job at a strange time

Hi there! I’m Alison and I’m new to the sustainability team here at the University of Nottingham. I will be working to deliver environmental projects and initiatives that will help make sustainable behaviours the norm at the University. More on that in a later blog. For now, here’s a little bit about me. I started …

Portland Zero is back in business

The University of Nottingham’s exciting new zero-waste shop ‘Portland Zero’ opened in March 2020, offering a range of goods that are completely free from single-use plastic packaging. Within weeks they went into lockdown, but the store lived up to its name and had zero produce go to waste during the pandemic. The Portland Zero team …

Sustainable Student Swaps

Third-year student, Eilis O’Keefe, has made a list of her favourite sustainable swaps for returning to university this term. 21-27 September 2020 is also Recycle Week. If you can’t reduce or re-use any of these ideas, make sure you recycle wherever possible. After 6 long months, it’s finally time to head back to uni. It …

The philosophy of life – Humanity living on the precipice

By Maxwell A. Ayamba – PhD Research Student in Black Studies, Department of American & Canadian Studies – Midlands4 Cities /Arts and Humanities Research Council  Growing up in rural northern Ghana in West Africa, the concept of nature to us was bicentric not anthropogenic, we revered nature because as humans we are considered part of …

Transport: We are already late to the party

David Grant is a Professor of Materials in the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Nottingham. He is also Director of the University of Nottingham’s Beacon in Propulsion Futures: a cross faculty initiative integrating over 100 researchers from different disciplines.   To quote Bob Dylan “the times they are a changin’ ” and perhaps …

We often talk about things being controlled by the BMS, but what actually is a BMS?

Building Management Systems (BMS), were first introduced in the 1980’s with the advent of the personal computer. By linking to inputs (sensors measuring temperature etc) and outputs (boilers, pumps, fans etc), it was possible for the first time to control the conditions in a building from another location.  The University first installed a Transmitton system …

The Challenge Ahead

The entire University was forced to adapt quickly to Covid-19, and everyone rose to the challenge. We have now moved into the ‘recovery phase’; our Energy team are working hard to reopen buildings, so that we can welcome back staff and students to campus. This new phase presents a fresh challenge, that we must all …

Renewable Technology on Campus

This summer, the Estates Development Framework (EDF) was published; its role is to provide direction for future University development and management by setting core goals. The overall theme of the EDF is ‘evolution without a carbon footprint’, and you can read it here.   To support the vision of the EDF, and to support the University’s …

Energy- A Universal Challenge?

A guest post by Ben Robinson, a PhD student within the Food, Water, Waste Research Group. Ben discusses his recent work in Nepal and the social, environmental and economic intersections he found there.  Energy and sustainability are like peanut butter and jam, fish and chips or eggs and bacon (for you bacon lovers out there), they …